Not only is this Park Lane Marauder the first of its kind here at CC (shot and posted at the Cohort by John Lloyd), but it gives us a chance to take in just how quickly the Marauder morphed from a single body-style (hardtop coupe) with very clear performance aspirations in 1963 to just a body style (swept rear roof) available in two and four door version on all of the big Mercury lines in 1964.
The Marauder appeared in the spring of 1963 as a “1963½” model, along with the similar “semi-fastback” big Ford XL. It was only available as the S-55 model, which had already been extant in the Mercury lineup as their big sporty model. The new roof line reinforced that a lot better than the reverse-cant Breezeway roof it started the year with.
Here’s the full range of ’64 big Mercury models, which brings the point home: no more “special” Marauder model; just a body style. But one could still equip a Marauder (or any big Merc) with the optional 427 engines, in both 410 hp (single carb) and 425 hp (dual carb) versions, along with the other performance options. But the Great Brougham Epoch was getting underway, and genuine performance did not really belong in a big Mercury anymore.
Beautiful cars.
Great looking cars and one of the best dashboards of the era when equipped with factory air conditioning.
What a waste of space that console is! At least it has storage under the armrest.
What are you talking about?
The ad photo above.
What console???
Between the seats in the ad above for the black 63 Marauder, 2packs.
Agreed, Neil: I hate consoles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdzI5lajgYM
The Mercury’s parked outside, under the light…
Kathleen Edwards’ song Mercury always reminds me of the ’64 model, but I’ve never seen this body type before.
So did every 63-64 full-size Mercury sedan have the Breezeway standard?
Looks that way.
In ’63, the BW was the only body style, except for the 1963.5 Marauder S-55 coupe. In ’64, you had your choice, as per the last image in the post from the brochure. I just checked my Encyclopedia; the prices in ’64 were exactly the same for either roof style, comparing hardtop-to-hardtop.
The electric retractable rear window was optional on the base Monterey.
I was never a great fan of the looks of the Breezeway roof Mercuries, but these Marauders really made the 63-64 styling work. A shame they were not more common.
A loaded 66′ was a good looking year for the breezeways, it was awesome for cooler days.
Crack the side vent, front window, and/or open the cowl vents and crack that breezeway to your liking and it’s total flow through without a bunch of wind noise.
Or turn the A/C on low and slightly crack the breezeway for a nice cool breeze…..
They’re really slick.
For anyone wondering where Chrysler got their design inspiration for 1965 (mainly the convex sheetmetal stamping), here you go. Elwood Engel just coming over from Ford surely was a factor.
Of course, in due time, Chrysler would quickly switch to following GM product styling.
I recall a commercial in which Joey Chitwood pimps the ’64 Marauder for his stunt driving show, but I can’t find it online. Wonder if I dreamed it.
Joie was consistently a Chevy man from the mid Fifties.
Wow, I didn’t realize this body style was available but it only makes sense that it was given the number of ’64 Galaxies I’ve seen with this roof treatment. It certainly looks less stuffy than the Breezeway models.
A lot of 58-60 Continental elements in the 63-64 full size Mercury : fins, rear bumper, taillights, Breezeway roof.
I love the four-door hardtop bodystyle on the ’64 Ford and Mercury; if I had to choose a classic four-door to drive, this would be near the top of my list.
One of my favourite full-size Mercurys of the sixties. The swept back front end was quite a bold styling change from the flat grille of the 63 models.
Four inches more length ahead of the cowl and reducing the rear overhang by the same amount would have helped differentiate the Mercury from the Ford, give it better proportions.
The ’64’s had the most appealing front and profile styling of the 1961-64 series and the Park Lane Marauder the best combination. The rear styling is the weakest area, true of all but the ’61 Monterey.
These ’64 Ford and Mercury four door hardtop fastbacks are examples of those one-year-only body styles they would do then.
Personally I am a fan of the Breezeway design, no doubt in part due to my aunt having way back when, but I sure wouldn’t pass up a nice Marauder like this as 64 is one of my favorite years for Mercs and that goes double for the Comet.
’64 Mercs were an ingenious thrifty build utilizing many previous model parts that were already in the bin; a nip here, an extension there… the disguise worked.
Too, Merc’s 25th anniversary was proclaimed loud and proud in the steering wheel center.
It’s always interested me that Ford invested in a one-year only roof for their ’64 Ford 4 doors and Mercury 4 door hardtops. The 63 1/2 2 door was a NASCAR response to the poor aerodynamics of the T-bird type C-pillar, but there was no racing benefit for the 4 door.
It’s stylistically a dead end, too, as the ’65s would have a more formal roof line.
So why did they do it? A feeling the T-Bird C-pillar was out of style? A need to offer an alternative to the Breezeway?
Because a considerable amount of the roof tooling was the same for the 2 and 4 door versions. Given the volumes for both Ford and Mercury, the amortization obviously wasn’t a problem.
Back in the 50s and 60s, there were lots of variations in body styles. It wasn’t that expensive; there were no safety/structural/roll-over issues. It was just a few pieces of steel stampings welded together.
Why did GM have so many roof variations? Look at them all, on the various B and C bodies at this time. There were two totally different 4 door hardtop roofs (flying wing and 6 window) for the ’62 Buick Electra alone, as well as a sedan.
It wasn’t really a big deal, and Ford needed to do something. The Breezeway was just too polarizing. A second roof was almost essential.
Looking at the Marauder ads reminded me of this “Pikes Peak” promotional thing Mercury was doing at the height of Ford’s “Total Performance” days:
And here’s an ad we wouldn’t have seen in LIFE magazine:
After looking at this for a couple of days now, I’m sorry – that’s one awfully ugly old heap.
Hardtop or not, is it any wonder I hate most Fords from that era?
I’m not wondering, you don’t like the Mercury Topaz either. Sheesh 🙂
I’d think you’d love it.
Just think, a whole extra window that goes all the way down.
Well, there’s that, I guess. Points gained.
Syke, you’re priceless!
This Breezeaway lives here, but it’s not being driven.
Front.
Definitely a more cohesive design than the Breezeway. But I do wonder about the height of that rear bumper–were they all that high off the ground, or is this one equipped with heavier than stock rear springs or similar?